Vans a Sight to Behold
Around noontime yesterday, two unique personality-driven vehicles motored west on Delancey before turning right onto Allen Street. Both vans were truly a sight to behold, with motorists and pedestrians alike staring in awe. One was sheathed in a crazy assortment of colorful cameras (dubbed the “Camera Van”); the other had metallic ornamentation welded to it, and was towing a music-themed punchbuggy (dubbed “Musicar”) studded with guitars, turntables, keyboards, and other random instruments.
UPDATE: Art Cars are in town for a documentary screening at Anthology. Many more were parked outside on East Second Street.
This image has been archived or removed.
The “Camera Van” is the work of artist and filmmaker Harrod Blank, and is just one of many so-called Art Cars. Here is the history as told on his website:
One night In the fall of 1993, Harrod Blank had a dream in which he covered his car with cameras and then drove around and took pictures of people on the streets. The public, unaware that the cameras worked, reacted naturally. At the end of the dream, Harrod looked at pictures taken with the van of faces frozen in the moment of awe, pictures so powerful that the next morning he decided to attempt to build such a vehicle in reality.
With the help of Dan Lohaus and some other friends, Harrod spent the next two years designing and building the van. With a lot of trial & error, the van was completed in 1995 and made it’s debut voyage in April leaving his home in Berkeley California, stoping in Houston and New Orleans and ending up in New York City where he would live and take pictures with the van for the following six months.
This image has been archived or removed.
More Art Cars can be seen here.
Recent Stories
NYPD Shut Down Adidas 99-Cent Sneaker Stunt on the Bowery Yesterday After it Turned Violent
Police yesterday morning shut down an out-of-control Bowery pop-up selling a limited-edition sneaker collaboration between adidas and AriZona Iced Tea. The huge crowds were the collective answer to the question, what happens when you sell a rare sneaker for 99 cents? The collaboration yielded two limited-quantity styles – Yung 1 and Continental. Both were available […]
Watch this Brazen Tagger Desecrate Louis Vuitton Logo on Ludlow Street
It’s clear that the locals aren’t too thrilled with the invasive Louis Vuitton pop-up at Ludlow and Rivington Streets. And one brazen tagger proved it. Midday Wednesday, a youngster jumped onto the building’s garbage bin and quickly spray-painted over the company logo. The graffiti lasted for a couple hours before it was buffed away. As […]
Katz’s Adjacent Retail Condo Sells for Record $89M
The hot pastrami sandwich at Katz’s Deli costs $22.95; the ginormous commercial condo in Ben Shaoul’s luxury development next door costs $89 million. Developer Ben Shaoul reportedly sold the retail portion of the building to the AR Global affiliate New York City REIT. Stated sale price is $88.75 million, which makes it the most expensive […]
Man’s Throat Slashed in Barbershop Bloodbath on Stanton Street
A 27-year-old man was slashed inside a barbershop on Stanton Street yesterday morning. The unidentified victim was attacked at about 11:15am while inside First Choice Barbers at 156 Stanton Street. The attacker, 35-year-old Aldo Corniel, slashed the customer in the throat; a third man saved the day by bashing the assailant with a fire extinguisher. […]
Doyers Street ‘Asphalt Art’ Ahead of Chinatown Seasonal Streets Closure
The third annual “Chinatown Seasonal Streets” initiative is upon us. As part of the program, select streets are closed to traffic to create public pedestrian space. The temporary plazas are also decorated with so-called Asphalt Art. Doyers Street had been the pilot, but this year sees the inclusionof a 5,370 square-foot area of Mott Street […]
